


How Far We've Come

by Arcturus_Sinclair



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, X-Men: First Class
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-01
Updated: 2012-08-01
Packaged: 2017-11-11 04:14:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/474386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcturus_Sinclair/pseuds/Arcturus_Sinclair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin/Morgana, canon AU, based on X-Men: First Class</p><p>An AU where magic is just coming to light and sorcerers are just finding each other. Merlin wants to live alongside the humans without magic, Morgana (brought up by Uther, who tried to control her when he found out about her power) wants to rule them.</p><p>How closely it follows the plot of XMFC after that is completely up to the author.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ((So. Um, I've never seen X-men all the way through beginning to end, so I sort of rearranged things. Hopefully this doesn't suck. Also, the people that aren't canon also don't belong to me. I'll come back and link up the places they came from.))

When Merlin would look back on it, he could never remember what they were fighting about that day. That day being the day that Magic Users came out to the world, and the day they had swords and knives pointed at them.

Uther was dead, and Arthur was the new king. Magic Users should have been allowed, right? Wrong, oh how wrong they all were. And when Morgana saw that, she got angry. And that's the day she changed. See, all Merlin wanted was to live alongside the others, the non magical. A simple request.

But Morgana? She was raised by Uther, and Uther tried to control her when he found out about her power. So, she wanted to control, to rule the ones without power. And when the non magical came for them, cornered them, she'd lashed out, her eyes turning golden as she used her magic on them, dropping them like flies.

And then she'd left, Gwen following her faithfully.

\---

That was six months ago. She'd taken a new name now. 'The Witch'. And Merlin had too, going by 'Em'. He'd gathered a group of five, six including himself, making three non magical and three magical. They knew the 'witching hour' as rumours called it, would be coming, and the non magical had to be protected.

Arthur was on his side now, having had time to cope with magic and realize not all magic users were evil. Though Merlin wasn't quite sure that Arthur hadn't just joined him to keep Camelot safe.

But that didn't matter now. He could find out later. He had been sitting on his bed, looking over notes. Spells. He knew he needed to learn more than what he knew, and had enlisted Gaius's help on that. Gaius had provided him a book filled with all sorts of spells.

Merlin wasn't quite sure where Gaius stood. They hadn't really talked about it yet. Gaius didn't even know all the details of what happened that day. Only the people in Morgana's room knew all of it. Which meant on Arthur, Merlin, Gwen and Morgana knew. Well, they were the only ones alive.

Merlin stood up and headed down the halls. He had two new recruits to meet after all. His last two magic users. His non magic team consisted of Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival. And the only magic recruit he knew was a woman named Lilly Constantine. He liked her, she reminded him a lot of the way Morgana had been, strong and beautiful.

And she was powerful, maybe more powerful than he was at that moment. That didn't bother him, not really. He knew he wasn't the strongest, but he was a Dragonlord, and Lilly's magic was more Elemental based. So hers was easier to learn, really.

He walked into the throne room and smiled. There was a new girl sitting in a chair, and she stood when Merlin walked in.

“Oh, Mister Merlin, I've heard so much about you. My name is Flora Reinhold.” Arthur snorted from the corner.

“Great, we're being led by the flower girls. Flora and Lilly.” Lilly snorted.

“ _Brimstream_ ,” she whispered, holding her hand up and flicking a stream of water at Arthur before stopping it, smirking. “Remember. A woman can be your greatest asset, or your worst enemy. And look at what Lady Morgana is.” She had a point. 

Merlin shook his head, smiling at Flora. “Pleasure to meet you, Flora. Do you happen to know what type of magic you're best at?” Flora nodded.

“Of course I do. My affinity is towards healing magic. It will make me a valuable asset, right?” Merlin nodded, smile never fading. 

“You are someone we'd need. But, and don't be offended by this, why do you want to join us?” Flora paused, looking thoughtful. There were many answers Merlin would have accepted.

“I want to show people that not all magic users are like Lady Morgana. That there is still good.” And that was one of them. Another could have been that she wanted to stop Morgana. He just didn't want to find ones like Morgana, or people who though their power was a game.

“Welcome to...well, we don't have a name yet, we were waiting until we finished gathering our members to make one.” Flora laughed softly before picking up her skirts and dipping into a curtsey. Merlin bowed, and the rest of the group followed suit. Save for Lilly, who just grinned and waved.

“Now, we should gather some information on Morgana's whereabouts.” Arthur sat down and pulled out a map.

“I'll go.” That from Lilly. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“You?” Lilly nodded.

“Me. Think about it. Lady Morgana knows you and Merlin. As well as the other knights, too. So, send me. And if you've gotten any new knights since she left send one with.” Arthur paused looking at Merlin.

“That might actually work. Tristan is new, but good enough to protect Lilly if he needs to.” Merlin paused.

“Lilly is powerful in her own right, too. More so than me. And sending someone with offensive magic will work better than not. Okay. That'll work.” Lilly grinned and Flora perked up.

“Offensive magic?”

“I'm an elemental spellcaster.  _Forbearnan_ ,” she added, making a small flame appear in the palm of her hand, holding it there for a moment before letting it flick out. “Merlin may be the most powerful, or will be when he actually learns it, but for now I'm the best we've got.” 

Flora looked delighted. “That's wonderful!” Arthur laughed, leaning back.

“Yeah, yeah. Lilly's neat. So, when should we set out?”

“The day after tomorrow. I'll spent tomorrow seeing what I can gather in town, and get what I need to branch out.” Arthur nodded at Lilly's words.

“That's certainly good for me. We don't want to waste too much time in case she moves, but I doubted we would be ready immediately.”

Merlin just watched, looking pleased. He noticed the look Flora was giving Arthur and grinned. “You'd never know that six months ago, he thought we were all evil, would you?”

Flora shook her head, her eyes widening further. “He doesn't have an issue with it now?”

“Not really. He's seen Lilly and I using our powers for good, so he knows there are at least two people who aren't evil.” Merlin shrugged and Arthur tapped his hand on the table.

“I can hear you, you know. But you're right. I lived with you for years, and you never seemed evil. Neither did Morgana, but Father...he was cruel to her. I think if you had been raised by him, rather than Gaius, you would be the same as her.” Merlin winced at that.

“I fear to think of what I'd have become without Gaius. But, I think I'll take Flora out to see how in control she is of her healing spells. Just out to the woods.”

Arthur nodded. “Stay close. I'll have someone fetch you for dinner duty then.” Merlin nodded and offered a hand to Flora, who took it graciously.

“Shall we?” Flora nodded.

“Let's.” And from there, they made their way outside. But, Merlin couldn't help but wonder what Morgana was doing right that second.


	2. Chapter 2

Morgana was sitting in her own room while Merlin was leaving the castle. Her mind couldn't help but drift back to that day.

She had killed Uther that day. But that was never what stuck in her mind. What stuck in her mind was, she was finally free, and they came for her. The non magical. They wanted to lock her up, to control her, to turn her into a weapon.

They didn't realize that Uther already had. She was a weapon against them. She would make the world safe for magic users even if she had to kill every non magical person herself.

They would all be free. And isn't that what Merlin wanted? To be free? To live and not have to look over his shoulder every second?

Morgana thought she could trust Merlin, that he understood. But she was wrong, an optimist like Merlin could never understand what it was like to be controlled like a horse when her 'father' found out about her powers. He'd had Gaius, who taught him, not controlled him.

And it hurt. It hurt more than Morgana had expected. She offered Merlin a place with her.

“Come with me, we can be free, Merlin. We both want the same things.” she said.

“No, my friend. We don't.” She'd left after that. And it had stung, leaving without him. She had expected him to come with her, to help her. Maybe it wouldn't have turned out like this, had Merlin been with her.

But there was no time to sit and mope now. She stood, pulling her hair back and braiding it quickly. She turned to the door.

“ _Allinan_ ,” she muttered, her eyes flashing golden as she did so. She finished her hair before stepping out of the door. She had to go figure out a game plan herself. She was tired of waiting, of being bored. So she was pushing things along.

She walked in to see  Morgause leaning over one of her two newest recruits, Nathalie. The other was a small boy named Giovanni. Giovanni reminded her of Mordred's exact opposite. He had light blonde hair, and pale blue eyes. He was cunning, though, and a good runner. 

She wasn't sure of his spell affinities, yet, but she wasn't worried. Nathalie, on the other hand, was only good at water based spells, which was fine because she'd heard Merlin had a firecaster. But she had herself and Morgause, as well as a powerful sorcerer. So, three of their ranks were powerful enough to go against whoever Merlin threw up against them. And there was Gwen to use against Arthur.

She would be fine. She would win. Whatever it took. And if she had to, she would be the one to kill Merlin, and only her. It was her only rule. Merlin was always the one for rules anyway. Morgana never saw a need for so many.

It still hurt to think about Merlin, though, surely that would change. She'd make it change. She sat down at the table and waited for everyone to join her.

“As you know, Camelot has a good group of knights. We should go scope out who's still there. I obviously can't go. So, we need someone who knew the previous knights but isn't me or Gwen. Any volunteers?”

“I want to do it,” Artemis replied from the corner. Artemis was her wild card. He was terribly powerful, but he was also sneaky. He knew how to get things done without attracting attention. And his contacts were just as powerful. He was her greatest asset after Morgause. She nodded after a moment of thinking.

“You'll need to go twice, two shift changes. We just need to worry about the outside knights. Inside will never change. Unless someone died. But, my dear brother isn't fond of change.”

Artemis nodded once. “I know, my Lady. I've peeked through the windows of his room enough to see his fits.” Morgana just stared at Artemis for a moment.

“I was looking to see the layout, of course. And to see if anyone would notice me. They never did, in case you were wondering.” Morgana just shrugged.

“Of course not. Uther was an idiot, and Arthur was always doing other things. And the knights were more incompetent than anyone realized.” Artemis nodded.

“I am aware of that, too. So, I would be the best one to do it, if you'll allow me.”

“Of course I'll allow you. Nathalie. I'd like you to take the rest of the group out and practice spells. Morgause, can you stay?”

Nathalie agreed, nodding her head. She wasn't what one would call conventionally pretty, but she made up for that in spirit. And she was still pretty in her own way. She stood and led Giovanni out. It was only Giovanni and her that were able to use magic anyway. Morgana turned back to Artemis.

“All right. Here's what you'll need to look for.” And that started the conversation on all of the guards, the layout, and the magical kind. 

She knew Merlin had them, so she might as well have Artemis scope it out. And everyone may have known Artemis by name, but few knew him by face. So she was safe. As long as he stayed hidden, they would be able to this. They would be fine. 

Morgana decided he would leave that night, and be back by the next morning. Morgana stood when they were done, and headed outside. She stood in the trees and watched.

“ _Tidrenas,_ ” Nathalie uttered, swinging around. Giovanni grinned at that. 

“ _Lyft sy þe in bǽlwylm ac forhienan se wiðere!_ ” Morgana watched as the rain dissipated. 

“Very good,” she said, stepping out of the tree line. “At least you've both got talent to work with. Though a rain cloud won't do much but get us all wet, it's a start.”

Nathalie nodded at that. “Thank you, my Lady.” Morgana just smirked.

“Okay. We'll be all right for now. We're playing a waiting game now. Merlin and Arthur will never see Artemis coming.”

She headed back inside, the others following. That was it. She had to wait. Her least favorite thing. She idly wondered if Merlin had a plan yet.


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin was settled on the roof. He was staring off into space, lost in thought. Lilly climbed up next to him, smiling.

“Worried?” Merlin looked over at her, startled.

“Not really. Morgana may be many things, but I don't think she'll kill anyone just to kill them.” Lilly nodded.

“Maybe not, but if she sees us as a threat to her, she might just slaughter us all at one time.” Merlin frowned at that.

“I know, but we don't have much of a choice. Anyone who finds it too dangerous and wants to leave can.” He turned back to her, just in time to see her rolling her eyes.

“I'm not afraid. Just worried about our non magical ones. But I'm not leaving.” Lilly crossed her arms and gave him a grin. “So let's all stop worrying and let me get going.”

Merlin laughed before shaking his head. “You've still got a few hours, remember? Your words, not mine.” She mock-pouted at him.

“Fine, can we do something, then. I hate sitting around.”

“You can clean Arthur's armor for me,” Merlin offered with a grin.

“Uh, no. Sorry, your chores, not mine.” She returned the grin and stood. “Let's go work on spells or something.”

“Okay. That works for me.” He followed her back down, and went to his room long enough to grab his book of spells. He'd left it on his bed earlier when he went to meet Flora. He then hurried back down and laid the book on the table.

“Okay. We all need to learn more spells.” He turned to Arthur and his knights. “If you three want, you can go practice fighting while we do this.” Arthur agreed to that, taking the others and heading outside.

“So, I think we should focus on defensive and some minor healing spells. We'll all need those, no matter our affinity.” Flora looked excited at that.

“It would be nice to have more than just me on healing. I can do it, but I can't heal all of us at one time.” Merlin nodded.

“Exactly. It'll be good to have all of us being able to do the basics of everything. We'll load up on what we're good at of course, but the defensive spells will help all of us no matter that.”

Lilly shrugged. “Makes sense to me. I'm assuming you mean spells that knock them out though, right?”

“Yes. I have no idea how many people Morgana will have, but I do know she'll have Morgause and that most, if not all of her fighters will be spellcasters.”

“So we may be majorly outnumbered,” Lilly pointed out.

“Yes and no. Because they will all be spellcasters, I've got the upper hand with the King's guard. They'll have the magic, but we'll have real fighters.” He grinned and tapped the book. “This is just back up, really.”

“Okay, that makes a good deal of sense. Can we start now?” Merlin laughed at Lilly before nodding.

“Okay, let's start.”

\---

They spent all day working, Arthur came in every once in a while to check on them. Then, when night fell, Lilly was on. She picked up a dark red cloak and grinned.

“I'm off. I'll be back in an hour or so. Don't have fun without me.” Arthur snorted.

“We wouldn't dream of it.” She laughed and slid out the door, before mounting a horse and riding in to town. It didn't take her long to find some magic users that Morgana tried to recruit, a boy named Theta and a girl named Sapphire. They told her everything, including where Morgana was set up. Lilly was giddy over how easy that was, or how good her luck was. Either or, she was still thrilled.

Now to get back and tell Merlin and the others everything she learned. She even got a promise from Theta and Sapphire that they would join her if she ended up needing more magic. She hurried back to the castle, lest she get caught and killed. That would be a real downer.

She ran back inside after dismounting and tying the horse up.

“I know where Morgana is,” she burst out, making Merlin freeze.

“What?” Lilly managed not to roll her eyes, settling for nodding.

“I found two people she tried to recruit, magic users. They told me everything. I know where she is, what she's planning—or what she was planning, and her other magic users. Did you know she's working with Artemis Fowl?” She sucked in a breath, waiting for Merlin.

“Oh, is she? That makes things more difficult then. Okay, that's good to know. What else?”

“She's got a girl with a water affinity, I'm not sure if that's coincidence or that she knows about me. And there's a cottage, just outside of Camelot, the only nice one. That's where she is. Theta can show us where it is if he needs to.” Lilly finally sat down while Flora watched her, and Merlin stared at the table thoughtfully.

“Okay. So, she's trying to nullify us. That's bad. Well, the fact that Artemis is on her side is bad too, though. So, we'll need to be very quiet about all of this. The two Lilly met can help, but no one else can know what we're doing. Arthur, if you told any of the other knights, warn them. We'll also probably need to make rounds more often, in case she's sending someone to check us out, and I wouldn't doubt that.”

Arthur nodded. “I'll go do that right now. Also, Merlin.” Merlin looked up. “After this is over, if you think you can still order me around, I'll kill you myself.”

Merlin smiled, ducking his head. “Understood, sire.” Arthur rushed from the room, and Merlin sighed, leaning back. “This is all my fault, you know. Morgana, I mean.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Flora responded.

“No, it really is. I'm the one that told her she had magic to begin with, even after everyone told me to stay out of it. She ran away, Uther thought she was kidnapped, but Arthur brought her back. Then Uther found out about her magic, I don't know how. And he used her, and controlled her. She was his puppet.” He paused, looking at them. “You can't tell even Arthur this, well, don't tell Arthur any of this, but especially what I'm about to say. Morgana killed Uther. That's what started this whole thing. He sent guards to gather all the known magic users to kill them. I'm sure you remember that.:

They both nodded, and Merlin started speaking again. “Well, he went to get Morgana himself. And she killed him. She offered me a place next to her, but I obviously turned her down. And here we are.”

Lilly stared. “Seems more like Uther turned her into this. You tried to help. But you can't blame a dead guy. And I'd have probably killed Uther too.” 

Merlin frowned at that. “If I had stayed out of it, none of this would have happened.”

“Doubtful. Morgana would have figured it out on her own at some point.” Merlin went to respond, just as Arthur walked back in.

“Well, they've been warned. And rounds will be made every twenty minutes. So, that's the best we can do.” Merlin smiled at Arthur.

“That will be perfect. Normal posts otherwise?” Arthur nodded at that, and Merlin clapped once. “Good. That will work. Now, it's late and I think we all need sleep. We'll meet at sun-up tomorrow.”

They all bade each other good night, and Merlin picked up the book before going back to his room. He frowned when he saw Gaius was already asleep, he'd been hoping to talk to him.

Ah well, tomorrow was another day. It wasn't like Gaius was avoiding him, right? With that, he laid down, and fell almost right to sleep. 


	4. Chapter 4

While Lilly was off looking for information on Morgana, Artemis was looking for information on Merlin. Just a few hours earlier, Morgana gave him, again, the list of what he should be looking for. He resisted rolling his eyes, this was Morgana Pendragon, the Lady of Camelot. Regardless of her impatience, she was still a high power and would get his respect.

But now he was on the grounds. And all he had to do was look around. Simple enough, right? And it was. There were hardly any guards or anyone around really. He peeked through a window and saw Merlin, Arthur and another girl looking around. Not the fire girl. Maybe they got rid of her, or she left.

He stayed for another hour, watching the guards change before heading back to the cottage...house thing they were set up at. He went inside quickly and relayed everything that he saw, or didn't see in this case. Morgana listened, pleased.

“Good. They have no idea what we're up to,” she finally said. “They'll never see us coming.” Artemis nodded.

“I know. We're all safe for the attack.” Morgana smirked at that.

“Now we just need to work on our spells.”

\---

It took another six weeks for them to be ready. Not because of any one reason, but Morgause did have things she did in that time, that made her leave. So, that was part of it, and of course it took time to become efficient with spells.

But they were ready. And now all they needed to do was strike. But, Morgana wasn't going to just walk back in to Camelot and take what she wanted. Yes, she wanted to rule, but she didn't want any more blood on her hands than was necessary. No one seemed to understand that. She'd spilled the blood of the only man she'd wanted to see bleed.

The rest would only bleed if they got in her way. But, that hardly mattered now, even if she wanted to, she couldn't take anything back. She could only move forward.

So forward she would move. Starting with an advance on the castle. She would make a claim for the throne, after all, she was the eldest. And knowing Arthur, he would refuse.

Which would lead to a fight. A fight they wouldn't know was coming. Or, maybe they knew that it was always meant to come down to that, since Merlin knew her intent and he wouldn't let her succeed. She knew that.

So she would just have to be better than Merlin and whoever he had. And she thought she was. She couldn't know for sure until she was face to face with them, but for now, she was ready. As were her other magic users. Gwen was her distraction. Arthur would be thrilled to see her and Morgana and Artemis would strike.

Morgause was to be back up with Giovanni and Nathalie. So, their rounds were all set. Now they were working on setting a date.

“I say give it one more week,” Artemis said.

“If we wait too much longer they'll know something is up.”

“Or they might think we gave up,” Morgause pointed out.

“Doubtful.” This from Morgana. “Merlin would remember. A week is good. Just enough time to gather the last minute things we need, but not long enough to make them suspicious.”

They all agreed to that, and went their separate ways for the day. They all had things they needed to get, things that other members didn't need. That would take a day or so to gather all of it, accounting for time.

\---

The week was up, they were ready. Or, as ready as they were going to be. Merlin had tried to draw her out, disbanding his group. If he was really that stupid, this would be easier than they'd all thought.

They left in the middle of the night, all covered in dark clothing. Morgana was ready, calm but wary. She was also nervous about seeing her brother and Merlin again, but she'd never say that aloud.

They rode all night, reaching Camelot in the early morning.

This was it. Any thoughts of turning back were gone. They had a goal, and she'd see it through even if it killed her. 


	5. Chapter 5

It had been six weeks since they'd heard anything in the way of Morgana. There were jokes going around that she'd died, or given up. Both of which Merlin disregarded. He knew Morgana was up to something, so he just went about what he needed to do. He made sure that they all knew basic sword fighting skills. He knew Morgana would have Morgause with her, after all, they'd left together.

But he could feel something was coming soon. He didn't know if it was his own mind playing tricks or if Morgana was coming or what. He just knew something was going to happen.

But he wasn't going to worry about that now, what he was going to do, was prepare. Lilly had just gotten back with more supplies and now he was going through them.

“You look worried again,” Lilly said, quietly. Her words drew Arthur’s attention to them.

“I've just got a strange feeling, is all.” Arthur snorted at that.

“A feeling. Lovely. Let me know when you have something we can use, Merlin.” Flora just frowned at him.

“A feeling could mean something! Magic could be near us!” she added, jumping to Merlin's aid. Over the past six weeks, Flora had grown very close to Lilly and Merlin, and she didn't like when Arthur teased Merlin.

“Or Merlin's just paranoid,” Arthur retorted, making Flora's frown deepen.

“I might be, but we all know that Morgana's not just going to give up. She's up to something, and if we don't keep our guard up, we'll be slaughtered. So, we keep on with our plan.” They all nodded, and Arthur stood to talk to Lancelot.

Lilly shook her head, leaning over the table. “How long do you think we have?”

“A week, at most. She doesn't want us to think she's gone. So any longer than that and we'd all give up.”

Lilly nodded, grinning. “Ah, that makes sense. We can work with that. We'll make her think we've forgotten her already.”

“How?” That from Arthur, who was back from talking with Lance.

“Simple. Publicly disband. Today. Then five days from now, we silently get back together, and wait.”

“All right.” Merlin looked worried, but even if Morgana didn't come early maybe she'd think she would have it much easier than she really would.

\---

Arthur made the announcement, telling the whole of Camelot that they were safe, that Morgana Pendragon was no threat to anyone. And then they waited.

Nothing. She didn't take the bait. And that was fine. They still had a plan. Yes, that plan required a lot of waiting, but it was better than diving in blindly.

\---

Five days later, they were back together. And they were back to waiting. Waiting for Morgana to do something, do anything.

They only had to wait another day. They didn't know it at the time, but Morgana was moving in as they waited. So, they waited and talked.

“I'm bored,” Arthur complained.

“Go ride around, then,” Lilly suggested.

“Boring.” Merlin laughed.

“He's just going to say no to everything, you know,” Merlin added.

“Well he can hush, then.” Arthur laughed, leaning back. They were all on edge now. They all could feel what Merlin felt the week before. Something big was coming.

Merlin pulled out the spell book again, and they all began skimming it, just for something to do.

\---

Night had fallen, and they all felt it. Morgana was near by. Merlin quietly began delegating tasks. This was it. Everything they'd been working for was here. Lilly came back five minutes later with news that Morgana's horse was seen just outside the gates. They would be there shortly. Merlin ran the book back to his room, and they all began getting their armor on and whatever else they needed.

There was no turning back. Morgana was looking for a fight, looking to control and Merlin would do everything he could to stop her. He wouldn't let her win, no matter how much of this was his fault.

His heart was in his throat as he put his own armor on, having done Arthur's first. Lilly ran in, her hair flying everywhere.

“They're through the gates.”

This was it. The battle was nigh. 


End file.
